Look at that...

[eurydicebound]

See those mini mushroom clouds on the horizon?

Those are the brains of the people in my classes this year, exploding upon impact with Other Stuff. *headdesk*

Among other gems paraphrased from the discussion lists (the teacher doesn't get involved... how I wish the teacher got involved...):

• The Hindu caste system is a tool of the fascist state... or fascist religion... or oppressing the masses... well, someone's being oppressed, damn it. Fuck it. If it's a religion, it's been instituted to oppress someone. Marx said so! Aaaand I hate the church my mom and dad made me go to! And I feel oppressed! ... I need a hug.



• The American work system is awesome! Sure, we work more hours than anywhere in the industrialized world, but... wait. We work more hours than anywhere in the industrialized world? And there are places where they can't fire you without a reason? Well... we're still great, damn it!



• These kids today are slackers who just want a cell phone and mommy and daddy to sue everyone for them! I don't know how this happened. Why, I was in high school just a couple of years ago, and....

The lectures and texts are pretty good, but the discussion is likely to Kill Me before all is said and done. And participation is part of my grade. Insert long-suffering sigh here.

Comments

[adamjury.livejournal.com]

And participation is part of my grade.

I've done a lot of arguing on the internet. Can I have a degree now?

[elissa-carey.livejournal.com]

No, but you Win! At the Internet!

Have a cookie. :)

[anaka.livejournal.com]

Sure. I hereby grant you a Bachelors in RPG Design and Talkin' About Stuff. There are certain shipping costs involved in sending you your diploma, though, primarily involving a significant amount of back "tuition." I can accept PayPal, though. :)

[oakthorne.livejournal.com]

I would have a talk with my instructors and explain that I'm demonstrating excellent participation skills by simply being in the same room in which such ideas are bandied about without killing anyone.

That was definitely a difficulty for me in school, too.

Joe

[anaka.livejournal.com]

I find that much like everywhere else on the Internet, it's much easier to allow yourself to bring the stupid on line than it is to unleash it in person in a public place.

[oldmangrumpus.livejournal.com]

Especially since he was most likely born in 4 B.C.

Showing off? Who, me?

[gammahamster.livejournal.com]

Thank god my selective memory allows me to forget that I had opinions before the age of thirty or what those opinions might have been. :D

[anaka.livejournal.com]

Hee. :)

[metallian.livejournal.com]

Ah, so it's pretty much like the rest of the internet, then? ^_^

[anaka.livejournal.com]

Mostly, except punctuation is better. It's like a less geeky, more conservative, more privileged shadow of Tangency on an alternate Internet somewhere.

[metallian.livejournal.com]

Beautiful description, I now grok in fullness. ^_^

[oldmangrumpus.livejournal.com]

I've actually heard that Marx's comment about religion being the opiate of the people was actually meant in a good way; that is, as a painkiller for a system that was grinding them down. Though, I , too, enjoy laughing at Marxists.

Do you just have the one course? These sound like discussions from two different courses... (though I know right now how dumb boards can become)

[anaka.livejournal.com]

No, there's two classes. Comparative Religion and The Anthropology of American Life, so two Anthropology courses.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_grimtales_/]

Well... they're pretty much right on some of the downsides of Hinduism, take the recent fuss over the 'bridge' to show they're not immune to the usual religious problems as well. They're just uninformed as to why/how.